Page 26 of Hawk

“That was the first time I met you.”

“Yes, it was.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not.” He stirred the eggs and then grabbed a plate. “I like my scrambled eggs kind of soft. Is that okay with you? I can cook them longer if you want.”

“Soft is fine. And why wouldn’t you think it was a compliment? I said you were adorable.”

“Yeah, well, people don’t normally equate adorable or cute with sexy now, do they?”

“Ahem.” I cleared my throat. “Is that what you want, mouse? For me to find you sexy?”

He let out a little gasp like he hadn’t how that would sound before he said it. “I, umm, I—” His mouth opened and closed like a fish. “I didn’t say that. I know you’re here to protect me, not to, umm, you know. I just meant I didn’t know if adorable should be taken as a compliment or not, not that…” He huffed and reached for the plate. “Never mind. The eggs are ready.”

I got up from the table and went to stand beside him.

“Mika, I want you to listen to me. Adorable is a compliment. And just to be clear, I do think you’re sexy. I have since I first laid eyes on you. I thought that once you were done with class, I’d ask you out, but now we have this little Butch problem, and that has to take priority. I need to focus on keeping you safe for now. There’s a reason why we frown on our bodyguards getting involved with our clients.”

He raised one adorable—and yes, I meant that in a good way—eyebrow at me. “Yeah, but I’m not a client, right? You said you aren’t charging me.”

“That’s right, you aren’t. But your safety matters just as much to me as it would if you were a paying client. Hell, it matters more, to be honest, so the rule stands.”

He carried a platter with eggs, bacon, and toast to the table. Then he went to the fridge and grabbed a couple different jars of some kind of jam.

“I get these at the Farmers Market. The sweetest lady makes them. She offered to help me learn to make them if I wanted to.”

“Do you make things like jams and jellies?”

“I never have, but I’d like to learn.” His cheeks colored. “I love the idea of doing things in the kitchen like that, especially if I can use locally sourced fruits and berries and things.”

I nodded. “My grandmother used to make wild plum jelly, which was my favorite. She also made homemade pickles.”

I hated that he’d been scared, but this was giving me an opportunity to get to know Mika better, so at least there was that.

“My grandmother makes all kinds of fresh jams and jellies and cans lots of food. She has a huge garden that they use for most of their food. I wish I’d taken the time to learn from her when I lived there.”

“And where is there?”

I’d resisted the urge to run a background check on Mika because it seemed like a violation of his privacy. It had been tempting, but now that we were talking, I was glad I was learning about him firsthand, not from some report.

“I’m from a small town in Kansas. My whole family lives there, pretty much.”

“Do you get to see them much?” I asked. It had devastated my mother when I chose to settle in Vesper instead of going back to Houston when I got out of the military, but I made a point to get home a few times a year, and she seemed happy with that.

“I didn’t at first, but I went home for Christmas this year, and that was really nice. My grandmother isn’t getting any younger.”

I put some of the homemade jelly on my toast and then took a bite of my eggs. Damn, they were good. I mean, eggs are eggs, right? I didn’t think I’d ever had any that were this good.

“These are really good, Mika.”

“Thanks. I just add a little seasoning to them to jazz them up a little.”

“Well, I like them.”

He seemed really pleased that I enjoyed his food, and I wondered what else he cooked. We took our time chatting over our meal, and when we were done, I offered to clean up.

“No, sir. You’re here as my guest, and you’re doing me a favor. No way I’m letting you do dishes.”

“Well, at the very least, let me help.”

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